Catching Up With “Kathy”

Posted on April 20, 2012

Last night was the premiere of Kathy Griffin’s pop culture talk show, Kathy (Bravo, 10 PM EST). I’m a big fan of hers, and while I’m still disappointed that Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List has ended its run, I am excited to see how Kathy progresses. Here’s what I thought about the first episode:

I really liked the set even though Kathy herself said there were aspects of it (like the “Situation Room”) that she doesn’t really know how to fully utilize yet. It was very minimalist in my opinion, but it was also in line with Kathy’s own home which we saw on D-List, so it definitely works for her. However, I must say that when the camera was focused on Kathy alone and there was just the exposed brick wall backdrop behind her (and not part of the window wall that’s off to the side) it bothered me. I’m not sure if it’s that there was just nothing of interest in the background or if the color clashed with her hair, but it just wasn’t working for me in those few shots.

One cool draw of the show is that the guests will be regular people and not celebrities. The first set last night was Michelle Collins (writer), Meredith Morris (Tiffany’s roommate), and Greg Howell (juice maker). Michelle was a little too talkative and opinionated for me, while Greg barely spoke at all and seemed shy. Meredith, on the other hand, was quite the show-stealer. Her commentary was witty, well-timed, and enthusiastic. I hope she continues making guest appearances throughout the series’ run. Also guesting on the show was Kathy’s adorable mother, Maggie. The staff was introduced too, as you can see in the clip below.

Production Assistant John was seriously adorable, but Kathy’s conversation with Production Assistant Cole had me laughing aloud. “I’m just laughing – you being a straight guy going from Top Model to this show. You’re so f*cked!” Too funny.

Kathy seemed a bit nervous and didn’t segue between topics very well in the beginning. Something that really bugged me was that her announcements of the guests and their names in the lower-thirds went by too quickly. The pacing was too fast from the start of the episode, but as the minutes ticked past, Kathy found her groove and really delivered it in the end. What did you think about the show?